Golf club carrier



y 1970 H. P. YOKERS I 3,510,145

GOLF CLUB CARRIER Filed April 8. 1968 75? PM 1Q al/W211,

Qzfforrzz] United States Patent 3,510,145 GOLF CLUB CARRIER Henry P.Yokers, Menomonee Falls, Wis., assignor to Sit N Rest Golf, Inc.,Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed Apr. 8, 1968, Ser. No.719,323 Int. Cl. A63b 55/08 US. Cl. 280-4719 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A golf club carrier comprising a substantially rectangularframe member having a pair of wheel assemblies mounted thereon whichextend toward the rear of the carrier. A club receiving container ispermanently mounted on the frame and extends toward the rear thereof.The container is comprised of a, golf iron receiving compartment in therear portion thereof and a storage compartment (for jackets, shoes,balls, etc.) in the front portion thereof. The golf iron compartment isadapted to receive golf irons therein with the heads thereof supportedat the bottom of the compartment and with the shafts extending outwardlyfrom the open top of the compartment to permit easy removal andinsertion thereof. The frame member has an offset portion at the lowerend thereof which provides a space for mounting a plurality of golf woodsupporting pockets which are fastened to the bottom panel of the storagecompartment. The golf wood pockets extend downwardly and rearwardlyunder the container and are adapted to receive the heads of golf Woodswith the toes thereof pointed downwardly and rearwardly with respect tothe container. With the wood heads tucked under the container, theadjacent frame portions provide a protective bumper to prevent dentingand scratching of the wood club heads. The heads of the woods and ironsare positioned below the level of the center points of the wheels toprovide a low center of gravity for improved stability both when thecarrier is at rest as well as when it is being pulled along the groundin use.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This inventionrelates to golf club carriers and more particularly to a golf clubcarrier wherein the containing and supporting means for the golf clubsis permanently mounted on the carrier.

Description of the prior art The most pertinent prior art known to theapplicant are US. Pat. 2,858,140 and 2,985,462. In the prior art patentsreferred to, the golf woods are mounted on the front portion of thecarrier just as in the present application. However, in the prior artthe wood clubs are supported in pockets fastened to the front portionsof the club container which pockets extend forwardly from the supportingframe and are adapted to receive the golf woods with the toes thereofextending forwardly of the frame thus placing them in a somewhatvulnerable position from the standpoint of possible damage. In thepresent invention, the frame member is specially designed to provide aprotected offset area in which .golf wood receiving pockets are mountedin a position whereby the golf wood heads are supported with the toesthereof pointed downwardly into the protected offset space provided bythe frame. As so positioned, the golf woods are not only betterprotected than in the prior art but in addition provide a compactprofile, a lower center of gravity and an improved arrangement forinsertion and removal thereof.

3,510,145 Patented May 5, 1970 r' Ice SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A golfclub carrier comprising a frame member of substantially rectangularconfiguration having an offset portion at the lower end thereof and apair of wheel assemblies mounted on the frame and positioned rearwardlythereof. A golf club container is permanently mounted on the frame andpositioned rearwardly thereof. The container has a compartment forreceiving golf irons and a plurality of golf wood pockets mounted on thelower front portion thereof which extend downwardly and rearwardly intothe space formed by the offset portion of the frame. The pockets areadapted to receive the heads of golf woods with the toes thereof pointeddownwardly and rearwardly with respect to the container.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a golfclub carrier embodying my invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of the carrier shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation view of the carrier with partsbroken away; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 44 of FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawings, the carrier is comprised of a tubular framemember 10, a handle 12, a club container 14 and a pair of wheelassemblies 16, 16.

Frame member 10 is of substantially rectangular configuration and ispreferably of tubular steel construction. The configuration of the lowerportion of the frame 10 and its relationship to the construction ofcarrier 14- is of particular importance. As most clearly shown in FIGS.2 and 3, frame 10 is comprised of parallel side members 17, 17,rearwardly and downwardly angling offsetting portions 18, 18 andforwardly and downwardly angling wheel mounting portions 20, 20 whichare interconnected by a horizontally extending foot portion 22.

Wheel assemblies 16 are comprised of wheels 24 rotatably mounted onresilient struts 26 which, in turn, are mounted on portions 20, 20 offrame 10 by means of cylindrical housing members 28 adapted to rotatablyreceive the ends of struts 26. As shown in FIG. 2, frame portions 20 arebowed outwardly at their point of attachment to housing members 28. Thewheel assemblies described above are constructed to permit each wheel tobe folded from its operating position as shown in the drawings to afolded position for storage (as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 1). Thedetails of construction and operation of such a folding wheelarrangement are disclosed in the previously identified US. Pat. No.2,785,462 and will thus not be described herein.

The carrier is provided with a handle 12 fastened to frame 10 forpulling the carrier over the ground on wheels 24. While handle 12 can beof any suitable design, one handle design which is specially adapted foruse on the carrier disclosed herein is shown and described in detail inUS. Pat. No. 3,142,087.

Club container 14 is preferably constructed of a durable and flexiblematerial such as vinyl plastic and is designed to provide a golf ironcompartment 30, a storage compartment 32 (for shoes, jackets, etc.) anda plurality of golf wood head compartments or pockets 34. The clubcontainer 14 is of bag-like configuration having a sub stantiallyrectangular cross section and an open top. The container is comprised offront panel 36, a rear panel 38 and a pair of side panels 40, 40. Thecontainer is positioned rearwardly of frame 10 between the frame andwheels 24 with the front panel 36 of the container lying in contact withparallel side members 17, 17 of the frame as clearly shown in FIGS. 1and 2. The container 14 is supported on the frame in any suitable mannersuch as by brackets 42, 42 (welded to the frame) and a horizontallyextending support rod 44 mounted on said brackets (FIG. 4).

Container 14 is provided with a centrally located partition 46 extendingbetween side panels 40, 40 which divide the container into the ironcompartment 30 and the storage compartment 32. The iron Compartment isprovided with a plurality of additional partitions 48 extending betweenrear panel 38 and main partition 46 as clearly shown in FIG. 4.Partitions 48 serve to divide the iron compartment into a plurality ofseparate smaller compartments each adapted to receive a single golf iron56 therein. The irons are supported in the iron compartment 30 by anysuitable means such as rods 50, 52 and 54 mounted between the lower endsof side panels 40 as clearly shown in FIG. 3. Also, as shown in FIG, 3,each iron 56 is positioned in compartment 30 with the head 58 of theclub pointed towards the front of the carrier, and with the bottom edgeof the iron head and the shaft 60 of the iron lying in contact with oneor more of the rods 50, 52, 54 and the rear panel 38, respectively. Thehandle portion 62 of each iron shaft protrudes upwardly out of the onetop of the container 14 (FIG. 1) to facilitate easy insertion andremoval thereof.

Storage compartment 32 is formed by front panel 36, main partition 46,the front portions of side panels 40 and a bottom panel 64. The top ofthe storage compartment is open. A zipper 66 is provided in front panel36 to facilitate access to the storage compartment. The bottom panel 64of the storage compartment is positioned at an angle with the horizontaland extends parallel to and adjacent with the lower edges of off-settingportions 18, 18 of frame as most clearly shown in FIG. 3. An additionalball storage pocket 68 is provided in compartment 32 as shown in FIG. 3.

The wood clubs 70 (or woods) are supported on the carrier by fourpockets 34 fastened to the bottom panel 64 of the storage compartment32. Pockets 34 angle downwardly and rearwardly into the space providedby the angled portions 18 and 20 of the frame. The pockets thuspositioned are adapted to receive the heads 72 of the woods with thetoes thereof pointed downwardly as clearly shown in FIG. 3. The shafts74 of woods 70 are securely and removably retained on the carrier by apair of flexible retaining member 76, 76 mounted on the upper portion ofthe frame by means of a pivotally mounted bracket member 78. A detaileddescription of the construction and operation of the shaft retainingmeans is found in US. Pat. 2,985,462 and thus will not be repeated here.As explained in detail in such patent, bracket 78 is adapted for pivotalmovement of the frame to facilitate access to storage compartment 32.

The above-described wood mounting arrangement provides several importantadvantages. With the wood heads tucked under the container 14, the frameportions 18 and 20 provide a protective bumper to prevent denting andscratching of the wood club heads, The heads of the woods (and theirons) are positioned below the level of the center points of wheels 24as represented by line 80. This arrangement provides a low center ofgravity for improved stability both when the carrier is at rest (as thedrawings) as well as when it is being pulled along the ground in use.Another feature which contributes to the carriers improved stability isthe relationship of wheels 24 to the frame 10 and container 14. Bymounting the wheels on the offset portions 20, 20 of the frame, thewheels can be positioned further to the rear of container 14 and themain side members 17, 17 of the frame without unduly lengthening thestruts 26. This improved relationship can be appreciated by noting thata vertical line 82 through the center of the wheels will pass to therear of all portions of the frame 10 as shown in FIG. 1. Anotheradvantage is that with the heads 72 of woods 70 tucked under thecontainer 14 the overall width of the carrier (with the wheels folded asdescribed in Pat. No. 2,-

4 985,462) will be only slightly greater than the width of container 14itself to thus provide a more compact profile for ease of storage.Furthermore, the golf woods can be inserted into and removed from thepockets 34 with greater case than was the case with previous designs.

What is claimed is:

1. A golf club carrier comprising:

a frame member of substantially rectangular configuration;

a pair of wheel assemblies mounted on said frame and positionedrearwardly thereof;

a golf club container mounted on said frame and positioned rearwardlythereof, said container having a compartment for receiving golf ironstherein; and

a plurality of golf wood pockets mounted at the lower front portion ofsaid container, said wood pockets extending downwardly and rearwardlybeneath said container, said pockets adapted to receive the head of agolf wood with the toe of the head pointed downwardly and rearwardlywith respect to the container;

said frame member further characterized by having an offset portion atthe lower end thereof with said golf pockets extending downwardly andrearwardly into the space formed by said offset portion of said frame,said offset portion comprised of a pair of rearwardly and downwardlyextending tubular portions and a pair of forwardly and downwardlyextending tubular portions.

2. A golf club carrier according to claim 1 in which said wheelassemblies are comprised of a strut member and a Wheel rotatably mountedthereon, said struts mounted on said forwardly and downwardly extendingportions of said frame.

3. A golf club carrier comprising:

a frame member of substantially rectangular configuration having anoffset portion at the lower end thereof;

a pair of wheel assemblies mounted on said frame and positionedrearwardly thereof;

a golf club carrier mounted on said frame and positioned rearwardlythereof, said container having a compartment for receiving golf irons inthe rear portion of the container, said container further characterizedby a storage compartment located in the front portion thereof, saidstorage compartment having a bottom panel positioned adjacent to andoverlapping the offset portion of the frame;

a plurality of golf wood pockets mounted at the lower front portion ofthe storage compartment, said wood pockets extending downwardly andrearwardly beneath the bottom panel and offset portion of the frame ofsaid storage compartment, said pockets adapted to receive the head of agolf wood with the toe thereof pointed downwardly and rearwardly withrespect to the golf club container.

4. A golf club carrier according to claim 3 in which said wheelassemblies are comprised of a strut member and a wheel rotatably mountedthereon, said struts mounted on said offset portion of said frame.

5. A golf club carrier comprising:

a frame member of substantially rectangular configuration having anoffset portion at the lower end thereof;

a pair of Wheels mounted on said frame and positioned rearwardly thereofso that when said carrier is in its at rest position said frame willangle upwardly and rearwardly with respect to the ground;

a golf club container mounted on said frame and positioned rearwardlythereof, said container having a compartment for receiving golf ironstherein with the heads of said irons positioned in the bottom of saidcompartment; and

a plurality of golf wood pockets mounted at the lower front portion ofsaid container, said wood pockets overlapping said offset portion ofsaid frame and extending downwardly and rearwardly into the space formedby the offset portion of said frame, said pockets adapted to receive thehead of a golf wood with the toe of the head pointed downwardly andrearwardly with respect to the container.

6. A golf club container according to claim 5 in which the heads of thegolf woods and irons are positioned below the level of the center pointsof the wheels when said carrier is in its at rest position.

7. A golf club container according to claim 6 in which the relationshipbetween said wheels and said frame is such that a vertical line throughthe center of said wheels will pass to the rear of all portions of saidframe when said carrier is in its at rest position.

8. A golf club container according to claim 5 in which golf clubcontainer includes a storage compartment in the front portion thereofhaving a bottom panel to which said wood pockets are fastened.

9. A golf club carrier according to claim 5 in which said offset portionof said frame is comprised of a pair of rearwardly and downwardlyextending tubular portions and a pair of forwardly and downwardlyextending tubular portions connected by a horizontal portion which makescontact with the ground when said carrier is in its at rest position.

10. A golf club carrier according to claim 9 in which each of saidwheels are rotatably mounted on a strut memher, said strut membersmounted on said forwardly and downwardly extending portions of saidframe.

11. A golf club carrier comprising:

a frame member having a pair of wheel assemblies mounted thereon andpositioned rearwardly thereof;

a golf iron container mounted on said frame and positioned rearwardlythereof, said container adapted for receiving golf irons therein withthe heads of said irons positioned in the bottom of said container andwith the shafts of said irons extending upwardly out of said containerrearwardly of said frame member;

a plurality of golf wood pockets mounted underneath the lower frontportion of said container, said wood pockets extending downwardly andrearwardly to receive the heads of golf Woods with the toes thereofpointed rearwardly and beneath the heads of the irons in said golf ironcontainer and with the shafts of the woods extending upwardly adjacentsaid frame member forwardly thereof; and

a golf wood shaft retaining means mounted on the upper front portion ofsaid frame member for removably retaining the shafts of the golf woodswhen the heads thereof are positioned in said golf wood pockets.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,480,597 8/ 1949 Nelson.

2,551,009 5/1951 Kaltenbach. 2,754,130 7/1956 Procter.

2,858,140 10/1958 Stamp.

2,985,462 5/ 1961 Stamp.

LEO FRIAGLIA, Primary Examiner J. A. PEKAR, Assistant Examiner

